Portugal face their toughest opponent of the U20 World Cup so far when they meet Brazil in the quarter-finals this weekend.
Hélio Sousa’s squad overcame hosts New Zealand in their last match, thanks to a late winner from Sporting winger Gelson Martins to give Portugal a 2-1 victory. Brazil beat Uruguay on penalties to set up a dream encounter.
The winner of this match will face either Uzbekistan or Senegal in the semi-finals. PortuGoal previews Brazil versus Portugal.
The Opponents
Brazil are five-time champions at this event. Only Argentina have won more titles. However, the Brazilians came into this tournament with some major concerns. The squad struggled to score at the South American U20 Championships, finishing in fourth place. Manager Alexandre Gallo was let go in May and replaced by Rogerio Micale. Micale has previous experience coaching youth squads back home.
Brazil seemed to overcome their recent woes in the group stage, winning all three on their matches. They were then unable to score against Uruguay in the round of 16, but managed to convert all five of their penalties to advance.
This will be the first encounter between these countries at this tournament since the 2011 final, which was won by the South Americans in extra time. The two teams played a friendly back on 24 May with Brazil coming out on top again 1-0. Real Madrid’s Jean Carlos scored the goal in that match.
Tactical Breakdown
The Portuguese faced some adversity against New Zealand but came out with the victory in the end. Manager Hélio Sousa praised his squad’s resilience but added that they need to start converting more of their opportunities.
“We knew it would be a difficult match and that New Zealand’s playing style could make life tough for us, especially in terms of winning the first and second balls around our penalty area. There were times when we didn’t do so well in those situations,” he said.
“There are times when a team will suffer and has to be able to deal with that, which is what we did. We got back into the game after they scored and created more chances. We weren’t as clinical as we should be though.”
Portugal should once again use a fluid 4-3-3 formation against New Zealand, as they have done through this entire tournament. A big plus was Rony Lopes giving his best performance in the World Cup so far. Portugal will need their best players to deliver against a tough Brazilian side. Francisco Ramos, who was suspended against New Zealand, will be available.
The young Canarinhos were pushed to the limited in their round of 16 encounter with Uruguay, eventually winning on penalties. However, Portuguese manager Sousa does not see this as an advantage for Portugal.
“In these matches, it does not matter if Brazil went into extra time or penalties in the previous game. We were in that situation at the European Championships last year. Both teams will do all they can to get to the final. It is going to be a great match and a great experience for both,” he said.
Brazil manager Rogerio Micale has deployed a defensive-minded approach, implementing a 4-2-3-1 formation at this tournament. This Brazil squad have plenty of depth in midfield with Andreas Pereira, Malcom and Marcos Guilherme, not to mention Sporting Braga stalwart Danilo, who should give Portugal’s midfield trio some trouble. Judivan leads the squad in goals with two.
Probable line-ups:
Portugal: André Moreira, Mauro Riquicho, João Nunes, Domingos Duarte, Rafa, Tomás Podstawski, Raphael Guzzo, Rony Lopes, Gelson Martins, Ivo Rodrigues and André Silva.
Brazil: Jean, Joao Pedro, Lucão, Marlon, Jorge, Danilo, Alef, Andreas Pereira, Gabriel Jesus, Marcos Guilherme and Judivan.
By Rui Miguel Martins
For more from Rui (twitter: @futebolfactory) check out Futebolfactory.com.
